Share & Severance & Tell with Katie Nolan and Michael Cruz Kayne

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Share & Severance & Tell"

Pablo Torre Finds Out — March 14, 2025
Host: Pablo Torre
Guests: Katie Nolan, Michael Cruz Kayne

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Episode Overview

In this fast-flowing, deeply nerdy installment, Pablo is joined by Katie Nolan and comedian/actor Michael Cruz Kayne for an episode that meanders from 90s internet nostalgia to an obsessive deconstruction of "Severance" (the hit Apple TV+ series), before veering into a hilarious examination of why anyone would buy the infamous "Saltburn" bathtub at auction.

The result is a warm, tangent-strewn hangout, filled with inside jokes, fandom deep-dives, and infectious laughter—plus a not-so-subtle debate on the ethics of collecting bizarre movie props.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Internet Nostalgia & AIM Memories

• The trio reminisces about AOL free trial CDs, shifting screen names, and the introduction of AIM features, especially the "Warning" function, which they recall as a (mostly harmless) tool for teenage mischief.
• [00:44] Pablo: "The AOL free trial CDs were a certain form of currency."
• [01:25] Pablo: Wonders if the 'Warning' feature was invented for politeness: "And instead, it was just weaponized."
• [01:47] Katie: “So we do that with everything.”

Memorable Moment

• Nolan describes family AIM habits, with her dad gaming AOL’s free trials and the resulting identity confusion.

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2. "Severance" Deep Dive (Spoilers for S1 and S2!)

[06:29] Onward

• The main focus: dissecting, celebrating, and mythbusting all things "Severance."
• Michael Cruz Kayne reveals he had a brief role on the show, prompting much self-effacing humor about his unforgettable, yet obscured cameo as “Steven.”
  • [08:04] Michael: “Well, I'm not allowed to talk about that, but yes, I am the star.”
  • [09:44] Michael: “I did feel Stevenish while we were shooting it.”
• The hosts debate the ethics and worldview depicted in "Severance."
• They get meta about fandom, theorizing on subreddits, and draw comparisons to “Lost” and “The Leftovers” in terms of payoff and audience expectations.
• Katie and Pablo express cautious optimism (and slight burnout) over whether all hidden clues will be resolved, referencing the infamous wait between seasons.
  • [16:49] Katie: “Almost criminal, how long we had to wait for a season two.”
• They praise standout technical elements—especially episode 7’s direction and aesthetics.
  • [21:03] Pablo: “The woman who directed that is a cinematographer. That was her first time directing an episode. It was gorgeous.”
• They joke about the unexpectedly sexy Adam Scott, the show’s complicated relationships, and the joys and perils of “shipping” the wrong couple.

Fan Culture Insights

• Katie warns about the risks of going “too deep” on the subreddit:
  • [15:48] Katie: “If you go too deep, I just think it's a little too much…”
• Both guests muse on whether the show can/will answer every mystery, and how their viewership was shaped by shows like “Lost” and “The Leftovers.”
  • [19:18] Katie: "What cured me of that was when I watched The Leftovers, because... they don't know why either. So why should you know why?"

Notable Quotes

• [13:14] Michael: "That borderline. Nothing. I knew what? I had read of the scripts, which were not… massive amounts from previous auditions…”
• [20:57] Pablo: “That episode was beautiful. Just beautifully shot.”

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3. On Buying the Saltburn Bathtub & Movie Memorabilia

[30:19] Onward

• Pablo segues to the viral auction of the “Saltburn” bathtub (from a notorious sex scene), sparking incredulity and speculation among the group.
  • [33:24] Michael: “Talented Mr. Sip Me. Is that something?”
• They debate the psychology behind collecting such notorious objects, whether for “sex reasons” or as a legitimate piece of cinema history.
  • [34:11] Pablo (quoting the buyer): “I just look at it... Barry Keoghan was right there. It's so crazy to me.”
  • [34:35] Katie: “It just feels like you've got that thing in your house so someone can say, ‘What is this?’”
• Inventory of the collector’s other purchases: Lady Gaga costumes, Tiger King’s clothes, Friday the 13th signs, etc.
  • [35:48] Pablo: "They include dozens of clothes previously owned by Joe Exotic... a mask and two vans from the horror movie ‘The Black Phone’... a horse trailer from ‘Twister’..."
• Comparison to owning sports memorabilia, and whether certain objects cross a line.
• Michael jokes about the “unknown sex pervert excuse” of calling it “a piece of history.”
  • [38:00] Michael: “Immediately came up with the same excuse that an unknown sex pervert came up with.”

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4. What Prop Would You Want? Movie and TV Object Wishlist

• Pablo asks: what memorabilia would you buy?
• They trade whimsies, from the “Severance” break room to Wilson from “Castaway.”
  • [38:44] Pablo: “He owns the FedEx box from Castaway.”
• Katie debates the value of Will Ferrell’s “Stranger Than Fiction” hospital gown; Michael is unimpressed by certain picks but amazed by others, like Radar's teddy bear from "MAS*H."
• The discussion cycles back, tongue-in-cheek, to the Saltburn bathtub and its questionable allure.

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5. Humor, Callback Jokes & Closing Thoughts

• The episode closes in irreverent, self-aware style: the group makes meta jokes about inserting their own podcast footage into a "Severance" scene.
  • [42:13] Katie: “His head is still blocked. Even in this, us two are on the side that you can see.”
• Katie remains convinced that “Pablo Torre Finds Out” provides chaos, rarely answers, and always brings fun.
  • [41:34] Pablo: "We found out so much today. So much."
  • [41:40] Katie: “I found out this isn’t the safe space I thought it was. I found out I’m not safe here.”

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Timestamp Guide to Major Segments

| Time | Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------| | 00:44 | AOL nostalgia, free CDs, AIM “Warning” | | 06:29 | Intro to “Severance” deep-dive | | 08:04 | Michael Cruz Kayne’s cameo (as Steven) | | 13:14 | On knowing (or not knowing) his role | | 16:49 | The agony of the S1–S2 gap, fan theories | | 20:57 | S2, Ep. 7: Aesthetic praise | | 30:19 | Segue into Saltburn’s bathtub auction | | 33:24 | The psychology of collecting weird props | | 38:44 | Wishlist: dream collectibles | | 40:03 | Radar’s teddy bear & memorabilia jokes | | 41:18 | Wrap-up banter, what was learned | | 42:10–end | Closing jokes & imagined TV cameos |

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Notable Quotes

• Katie Nolan [16:49]: "Almost criminal, how long we had to wait for a season two."
• Pablo Torre [21:03]: "It was gorgeous in every way. And the broader takeaway, though, name. Do you know Jessica Lee G. Nice. She knocked that out of the park."
• Michael Cruz Kayne [34:35]: “It just feels like you’ve got that thing in your house so someone can say, ‘What is this?’ and you can go, ‘Have you seen this scene from Saltburn?’”
• Pablo Torre [38:44]: "He owns the FedEx box from Castaway."
• Katie Nolan [41:40]: "I found out this isn’t the safe space I thought it was. I found out I’m not safe here."
• Michael Cruz Kayne [38:00]: “Immediately came up with the same excuse that an unknown sex pervert came up with.”

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, equal parts sharp and silly.
• Fast-paced volleys of jokes and deeply considered arguments.
• Imbued with a sense of playful “fandom therapy”: this is about finding community in obsession, and laughter in the absurd.
• Frequent callbacks and mutual ribbing keep the tone light even while nerding out on TV drama or questioning the meaning of collecting.

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Conclusion

A quintessential "Share & Tell" episode: affectionate, weird, and fiercely invested in its favorite stories. "Pablo Torre Finds Out" here becomes part couch club, part TV aftershow, and part pop culture group therapy—asking not just “what happened on Severance,” but “why are we like this as fandoms and collectors?” Great for both hardcore watchers and those just in for the ride.

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Skip this episode only if you hate fun, spoilers, or the phrase “so milky.”

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out. I am Pablo Torre. And today we're gonna find out what this sound is.

[B]

No. Oh, my God, it's so milky.

[A]

Right after this ad.

[B]

You'Re listening to Giraffe Kings. My dad would do the free AOL CDs, of course, and so we had to get new screen names every, like, two weeks. Once he used the free hours, he would, like, make a whole new account. Yeah. He would get them in the mail. He would, like, actively go out and seek them. At a certain point.

[A]

The AOL free trial CDs were a certain form of currency.

[B]

Yes. Oh, man. My dad had that system figured out, and I was like, hey, dad, so this is kind of like a social thing. And my name keeps changing. It's getting tough for me out here. Please, can we just. And then they came out with aim, which was the best. You didn't have to do all the other stuff with the chat room. You could just do.

[A]

I remember when. When Warning debuted as a feature. Remember when you could warn people on aim?

[B]

No. But I remember next to nothing about my life. So please tell me about it.

[A]

There was a. There was a function that I presume was invented because of, like, online bullying, but you could warn the person you were instant messaging with.

[B]

To whom?

[A]

To them. So you would press, like, a lightning bolt icon and they would get a warning, an electric shock. But it was like, a percentage. And you could keep warning them. And if you warned them, 200 coming back to me couldn't send an IM.

[B]

Huh.

[A]

And so presumably this was used again to, like, create politeness and decency. And instead it was just weaponized.

[B]

So we do that with everything.

[A]

Teenage boys could just, like, lightning bolt each other over and over again.

[B]

Oh, I thought you were gonna say weaponized in actually bad way. That ended up being pretty harmless there at the end.

[A]

It was fun.

[B]

In terms of weaponization on the Internet, that wasn't too bad.

[A]

I mean, it wasn't like we fomented a revolution in Myanmar.

[B]

Did Twitter get something today? It was not.

[A]

It's not working.

[B]

Yeah. So I think that's. I think we gotta go. I think it's time to go. It's time for me to leap into blueski. I'm heading over to blueski. God, everybody's very nice there. It's me who's hesitant. It's the welcome you. It's the relearning of the stuff. It's the re. Following the people that I got of. It's the. I had it. I had it. And I Didn't do anything that made me deserve to have it taken away. Why did you take it from us? Why?

[A]

Warning was invented. Oh, wow. This is a. No, this is a message board post from 2003.

[B]

What you have there in front of you, what I have there in front of me, that goes deep into the Internet.

[A]

Straight dope dot com.

[B]

Okay, that's a boards dot straight dope dot com? Who knows?

[A]

It's. It's. It's. Hold on. Where's the actual website? Here's a headline from the Gainesville Sun.

[B]

Okay, and that's a real thing. Or something named to sound like a real thing.

[A]

Yep. Like the Epoch Times.

[B]

Yes. And which is what again?

[A]

Presumably a real thing and not, as it turns out in this Wikipedia page, a far right international, multi language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement.

[B]

Oh, that is. That is. That is Shen Yun.

[A]

Oh, right. Oh, yeah, Right, right, right. That performing art festival thing.

[B]

It's a show that they make seem like it's like a Broadway show, but.

[A]

It travels, operated by the Falun Gong.

[B]

And I looked into that because I heard somebody say randomly. Because Dan and I see these commercials all the time because they run during Jeopardy. And so we're always like, what is this? Maybe someday we should go to this, thinking it's just like any other performance that comes through New York. And we. I like, saw come up somewhere in a subreddit of somebody explaining how it was cult based.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it shocked me. And I was like, dan, I think something might be up with this. And then I looked into it and it's a little.

[A]

I mean, it's. It's the Los Angeles Times 2020 quote. Both Shen Yun and Epoch Times are funded and operated by members of Falun Gong, a controversial spiritual group that was banned by China's government in 1999. And it goes on to describe an organization that has claimed that aliens started invading human minds in the beginning of the 20th century. You know, leading to mass corruption and the invention of computers. Which would make sense, wouldn't it?

[C]

Is this table moved?

[B]

Oh, I. Am I. That spatially unaware.

[A]

Chairs.

[B]

Are you having a moment?

[A]

The chairs.

[B]

Where'd you come from, a conference?

[C]

Yes, a lanyard from work. Okay, relax, dude.

[B]

Sorry. We were talking about how I'm dressed like a 12 year old boy. So if you want to pick up and get a couple of those in. It's my friend's podcast. This is the best hockey podcast on Earth. It's called what Chaos. It's my Friend's Pete and dj, and I love it. And they have great merch, and it's like, high quality merch, which tough to get these.

[A]

What size is that shirt?

[B]

It's oversized. Because, look, they sent one to Dan too. And I showed it to Dan, and he's like, I can't wear shirts that are oversized like that. And I said, you know what? I don't think I can either, but I'm gonna. It's cool. And I'm pretending. We were all, I thought gonna pretend I looked cool wearing it, but I.

[A]

See that you look cool.

[B]

Here's the problem. I was getting dressed to run out the door. I was ready to go, and Dan's like, oh, you're gonna do a podcast. You want some of this? Bold. I was like, yeah. And then I just stood there looking in the mirror, and I was like, what are you gonna wear?

[A]

And you're like, this T shirt isn't large enough.

[B]

What are you gonna wear? And I was like, I don't know. Let's just wear this. And I walked in before I left, and I said, hey, you got me high at the wrong time. Is it okay to go outside in this outfit?

[C]

I.

[B]

And he was like, what? Yeah, totally. I could tell he said, it's scared. And now you know. Anyway, how's everybody doing?

[C]

We have fun. At the end of the day, what we do is have fun.

[A]

Okay, let's do two things. Number one, spoiler alert. We're going to talk about severance. But number two, I would like to set up how it is that we all realized we should be talking about severance today. We have been podcasting and watching a show which we love and are obsessed with to varying subreddit depths. With a guy.

[B]

Oh, yeah, That's. So I freaked out when I realized was on.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

The show.

[C]

That, as I understand, is the preferred term.

[B]

I think it's exactly the condescending verbiage that I'd expect from a group trying to save people from their own choices.

[C]

Choices did her nz.

[B]

And where are you getting these terms?

[C]

Call it someone who's had their brain split in half.

[B]

That has nothing to do with what we do at Lumen, nor any severance procedure.

[C]

I understand you don't want to answer.

[B]

My question, so I'm answering it.

[C]

Reveal that you are complicit in something totally immoral.

[B]

What's immoral?

[C]

Tough to buy that guy as just a regular guy in that world, you know what I mean?

[A]

Can I.

[C]

He must be a movie star in this world.

[A]

Honest compliment Crushed the role of guy on television debating the severance procedure.

[C]

Let's go.

[B]

Really legitimately good points. You were on the right side of history, I believe. I'm not sure yet. We're not done, but I believe. And let me also say, please do that, because everything in this show is intentional and. And every shot we see is carefully considered. I would say my interpretation of your face being hidden by Mark S's face is that perhaps you are actually the protagonist.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Of Severance. Severance. The show. Well, I'm not allowed to talk about that, but, yes, I am the star.

[B]

That's why I didn't think we were going to podcast, because I was like, you mean with the. The star.

[A]

Genuine question.

[C]

Go.

[A]

When you. Was it an audition? How do you get the role? How does this work?

[C]

Fantastic. So here's how it worked. I auditioned for. I don't remember which role. I want to say the Zach Cherry role. Dylan. Is that the character's name?

[A]

Y.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I think I auditioned for that role and then gradually not getting that role. Auditioned for smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller roles. I think that this one, I don't even know if I auditioned for. They just might have been like, well, we gotta throw this guy something. And so then. So then there I was again.

[B]

If I can spin, if I may spin. They liked you so much, they wrote a role specifically to use you.

[C]

That seems extremely. I mean, they met you. How many.

[B]

They kept bringing you back.

[C]

It's a lot of. It's a lot of. No, not for this, not for that. You know what? He could be right. No, not for that, but for this.

[A]

You do have a name.

[C]

Do I?

[A]

Did you. Do you not know your own name?

[C]

I don't know.

[A]

Oh, you know what?

[B]

I thought this because you mentioned it. You mentioned it in the group text, and you did not react to it in a way that I was like, I don't know if he even knows.

[C]

Gone over my head completely.

[B]

And if it was your name, that'd be a tough thing for it to do.

[A]

You got severance from your own severance.

[C]

I might have been severed while I was there.

[B]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. He doesn't know his own name.

[C]

Every actor do that.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Steven.

[C]

Steven. Oh, yeah, I could feel that. Yeah, I definitely could feel that.

[B]

I can go back to that place.

[A]

Now that I remember, I can go.

[B]

Back to that place.

[C]

I did feel Stevenish while we were shooting it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, future president Stephen. Stephenish Smith.

[A]

God, talk about things I would like.

[B]

To wipe from My system so bad.

[C]

He is a loose dog. I love it.

[A]

He's contractually allowed to talk ever more about becoming president.

[B]

It's wild.

[C]

I think it could happen. I believe it.

[B]

I think it could happen too. That's still.

[A]

Let's stay on track.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Episode 3 First Season Stephen.

[C]

Stephen.

[A]

What?

[B]

V. You should know what is feels V. What's your motivation?

[C]

It's V, isn't it? I could tell it was V. You're damn right. Yeah.

[B]

He knows.

[A]

He really studies this like the corner of two walls.

[C]

Holy.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

Spoiler.

[B]

There are walls in several.

[C]

We should have said that ahead of time.

[B]

And Hal, can I say something else.

[C]

That'S not really on track? I don't believe in spoilers. I just don't believe in it.

[B]

What does that mean?

[C]

It came out at whatever time it came out. If you didn't watch it, then you. Dude, that's it.

[B]

No, but I think warning people who aren't normally tuning into this for that that's on them. Just warning them that up until that certain. And people are gonna be mad too because they're gonna want to hear the podcast and. But you just gotta prepare for that. I would like to talk to my friends about the show that I like.

[A]

I would like to remove the spoiler alert that we gave before because so far we haven't spoiled anything.

[B]

I think we did, didn't I?

[C]

Steven is huge. You kidding me? You showed the scene with Steven.

[A]

What did Steven.

[B]

Actually, I do have a question. Would you have the answer if I asked it?

[C]

Almost definitely not in the clip.

[B]

The thing you are upset about your charact, as you'll recall. I'm sure sorry. I don't mean to.

[C]

Honestly, I didn't remember someone watch. People have been sending me this clip. So I am like.

[B]

I mean, really. Season one was so long ago, it's crazy.

[A]

It was 2022, February5. 2022 is when we watch even.

[B]

Yeah. I was like, dude, I can't go back. I have to go back. But I'm pretty sure I had met you by then, so I should have noticed you the first time. And I'm sorry that I didn't.

[C]

Okay. Thank you. I've been waiting for that apology.

[B]

I know. I could feel it. What was I talking about? So passionate.

[C]

You had a question. You had a question.

[B]

You're talking about a woman who is pregnant who got after a company activated severance or allowed severance month. A month later a woman got pregnant at work.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And you're arguing that like, how could you possibly be saying this is ethical.

[C]

Yes, Ethical problem.

[B]

Months later, this girl got pregnant and even a muckraker. And my question was, are. Does that imply. And this is probably a stupid question, but I'm not afraid to ask it. Does that imply that other companies that aren't just Lumen are also using severance at their companies, letting their workers be severed? Or did we already know that? And I should have, but it feels like he works at Lumen. So it's like, if other companies are also doing severance, that means he's at, like, the headquarters of what's kind of a global problem. If you're talking about.

[C]

When you say he.

[B]

Like, yeah. The story we're watching is now suddenly even more important because it's not just about this one company that does this to their workers. I assume then they license out the tech to all these other companies.

[C]

I assumed the one company. But I should. I should say to you with extreme clarity, I do not know sh. T. I know.

[B]

And you know what? Me neither.

[C]

Even possibly less than you know.

[A]

So what. What did you know when you were playing the role?

[C]

That borderline. Nothing. I knew. I knew what? I had read of the scripts, which were not. They didn't, you know, not massive amounts from previous auditions and, like, the basic premise of the show, from trying to.

[A]

Be Zach Chase, from trying to be.

[C]

Increasingly larger or increasingly smaller characters.

[B]

I see where this fits.

[C]

Exactly. And it was. Yeah. Super nice and easy breezy.

[A]

Were you actually talking to that person or was that.

[C]

That person was very close to me physically? We weren't. It's like green screened, I think, probably whatever.

[A]

She becomes a big character.

[B]

Yeah, she does.

[C]

Yeah. And when I met her, I sort of assumed that we were roughly the same tier of person.

[B]

Yeah. Fair. Fair enough.

[C]

Because I.

[B]

You're like, oh, we're both kind of just here for a little bit. Yeah.

[C]

And I think looking now, seeing her, like, in every.

[B]

How does that feel?

[C]

Episode feels great. Because you know what? I'm happy for her.

[B]

That's right.

[C]

And I do not. I have never experienced envy or jealousy in my life.

[B]

Me neither. What even is that? Sorry? You said envy.

[A]

The two letters.

[B]

Nv.

[C]

Yep. Nevada.

[B]

I don't know her.

[A]

Adam Scott obscuring your face for a large chunk of that.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Both poetic and also to the person whose face got obscured.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It was hilarious.

[C]

Are you asking me? Yeah, I did think I did.

[B]

How a question sounds.

[C]

I did think that it was hilarious because it was kind of a thing where I would laugh at that, having come in for. So funny.

[B]

Visually kidding.

[A]

Because you're our friend.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Again, having come in for increasingly smaller, smaller roles, you get the script, you're like, oh, wow. This is actually, like. It's actually a decent amount of stuff.

[B]

It's so funny.

[C]

It's not like a huge roll or anything, but there's, like, a lot of lines. That's so funny if you watch it. And they're like, wow, they really found.

[B]

A way seeing me, but I'm hearing my voice, but I'm blurry. Okay. But surely they're gonna. There she. There she is. Okay.

[C]

We're seeing a lot of her. Oh, that's nice.

[B]

This feels.

[A]

Not accidental.

[C]

That's.

[A]

The blocking of this scene seems very deliberate.

[C]

It does feel vaguely prankish.

[B]

Did you piss off Ben Stiller at any point in your career?

[C]

I don't think so. I think he was so nice.

[A]

Would you like to say anything to Ben?

[B]

Would.

[A]

To you, like, while you have a microphone?

[C]

No. I mean, I would only say, sir, you've done such a wonderful job, and if, you know, you ever needed that character to recur, I could see a lot of ways in which it would be. Work. It would work.

[A]

And fans are demanding.

[B]

Fans are demanding. I'm. That's. I'm that deep in the subreddit. I do.

[C]

They call them the. The Stedor. Those. Those are the ones who are like. They're really pushing for more, Stephen.

[A]

So to go back to the subreddit.

[C]

I'm not on the subreddit at all, by the way.

[B]

Good. And it's. And again, that's kind of goes back to what I'm saying. I don't even really recommend it, because if you go too deep, I just think it's. Sometimes it's a little too much about trying to get every little. I zoomed in on this, and I checked on it, and it's like, some of that is there so that you can appreciate it upon revisiting if you get through. What a blessing to get through a TV show and go like, let me take another spin at that, because that was really interesting. And then have your viewership enhanced like.

[C]

You'Re rewatching the episodes.

[B]

Yeah, I just. Yes. I just started this weekend. I'm on episode five, I think. I think I just did five of season one, and I don't think I'm gonna rewatch season two. Because here's the other crazy thing. The beginning of season two, I was like, I don't think this show and I get along anymore.

[A]

My concern was, I was Slow.

[B]

I was like, it's losing me. I'm not sure. There's too many things.

[A]

The finale of episode or the last episode was the finale of season one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Was one of the great television shows.

[B]

It was amazing.

[C]

Incredible.

[B]

Almost criminal, how long we had to wait Almost criminal, how long we had to wait for a season two in the subreddit. Maybe this is disproving that I'm not deep, but I went back just to make sure I grasped all the concepts. And people were like, after the. I checked, I looked ahead at the subreddit for the episode of the finale just to be like, what did people say right after they saw that? And what they said was like, I can't believe we gotta wait another year. I can't believe we have to wait 12 more months. Months. And it was like, oh, boy, you. You have to wait like that times three before you're going to get another episode. Right. Like part of two and a Half.

[A]

Part of, like, my subreddit psychology. And I've made this mistake before. Like, honestly, I. I really enjoyed the last season of the White Lotus, but the thing about the White Lotus was last season, I felt like the subreddit collectively was trying harder than the writers actually wound up having tried. Like, there was the invention of theories and details being read into in ways that were just beyond what the intent was. It turned out for that season. And severance. Any show like this seems to be, you know, teasing, knowing that the audience will inevitably go and. And. And. And spin off into their own sorts of rabbit holes. But the question of will it get paid off? Right? So the finale of season one, I was like, okay, they're doing it now after episode seven, I'm like, finally, they're doing it and hanging in the back. And this is like, the Lost problem is that, like, you can get these signs that they're doing it. The question is, at the very end, will this all pay off? And I am so hopeful that severance will.

[B]

I think it will.

[A]

I've just been burned before.

[B]

I think it will too. What's. What solved my burn of Lost? Because Lost, I felt like I thought we were collecting all these clues and would be rewarded, and we were not. And I think it's because I went into it thinking they were gonna tell me the answers. And what cured me of that was when I watched the Leftovers, because the Leftovers was like, yes, we're not gonna tell you why it's gonna happen. And we're making a show about what happens after it happens, because they don't know why either. So why should you know why we're not solving it? And so then once I accepted that, I really liked that.

[C]

I agree with that so much. Mine is like, a little bit in reverse, where, like, I. You said that leftovers cured you. I thought of, like, loss, like, primed me.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

For leftovers.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Now I know the way these people work is, yes, some of this is just not gonna get answered. And there's no way. A certain point to leftovers, you're like, they can't answer all this, like, severance, which I. I do have full faith will pay off, so to speak. They're not gonna be able to tell you what all this was. Some of it is just gonna be like, oh, yeah. And that happened. And we. We couldn't tie up every single piece of this. So the questions are like, what's exciting is to think which of the things will be the ones that are answered.

[A]

Right.

[C]

I hope. I hope to find out when Steven.

[A]

Is revealed as Steven Lman.

[C]

Huge. It's gonna be. I'm not supposed to. I'm not supposed to say.

[B]

Can we go back to talking about the show?

[A]

I like episode seven.

[C]

Wait, is that the one that. The one that just was on, the one before that?

[B]

This. A second to last.

[A]

So the episode about Gemma, the.

[B]

The. The big reveal.

[C]

Jenna's in all the different rooms.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All those rooms that. I mean, but just the. I sort of just palpably experienced what it's like to be out in a broader world after being claustrophobically inside of these hallways. And just, like, it was weird to be like, I have this feeling when I watch the White Lotus, when I watch Succession, where I'm like, I am enjoying this. Not merely because this is a really well constructed show, also because I'm into the aesthetics of it. And I just found myself being like, oh, wow.

[B]

That episode was beautiful.

[A]

It was just beautifully shot. That was the first plants I loved.

[B]

The woman who directed that is a cinematographer. That was her first time directing an episode. It was gorgeous.

[A]

It was. It was. It was gorgeous in every way. And the broader takeaway, though, name. Do you know Jessica Lee G. Nice. She knocked that out of the park.

[B]

Yeah, she really did. And again knocked me on my ass. That episode was like, it's crazy to see a sea change in. Again, the depth that I go of the subreddit, which is not too deep. Not reading the other theories. I gave a couple other people too much. I like, was reading it and then was like, okay, this nuts. That's obviously not going to happen.

[A]

I'm like a catfish. I'm just like everything on the. The sea floor.

[B]

Yeah. That's crazy. You don't worry that you're like, this is a waste of my.

[A]

I mean, okay, I don't know what that accent is, but I know that you know to watch people. SteveDore59 was like, this is actually a dream sequence.

[B]

People love, loved Mark and Helly. They loved that. And then in one episode after. I mean, right after they have sex.

[C]

The percentage increase in any mark having sex has absolutely skyrocketed.

[B]

Dude is getting very more laid than he's ever been his life.

[C]

He was extremely not having sex in there. And now he's having.

[B]

Had never ever even probably never any.

[C]

Mark had probably never had sex. And now any mark is doing it on the regular.

[B]

And then after episode seven, everybody was like, Kelly. Like, this is. It was crazy that they did such a good job of portraying the love that Mark had for his wife and that they had as like a couple. We had known nothing about that, so we weren't really even understanding his pain yet. We were told about it.

[A]

Dead wife. That sucks. I guess. Okay, let's watch people have sex under this desk. Yeah. To speed run through a lifetime of a relationship and have that not feel like it's cheap and that they did it for again. An artificial pulling of a puppet string is so hard. And by the end. Yeah, that's exactly the right reaction. You feel bad that you were rooting for this other. You were shipping the wrong couple.

[C]

You also get hot Adam Scott in there, which you don't really get from.

[B]

I mean, and we needed. We needed a little bit. We just need to be like, yeah, good. I bet he was like, hell yeah. I can just throw my fastball in the middle of the. Because I'm still start. People are starting to lose. I saw people using the meme of like, you don't love this guy. You just are on SSRIs or something like that of the like, if you stop taking your beta blockers, this is gonna go away.

[C]

Yeah. Then you see.

[B]

And then he comes out there and you're like, oh, no, no, no. He's got. He's.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

You're losing him in the. He's getting lost in the role. It's the point.

[C]

He's been playing his sex appeal. Has been playing kind of left handed this whole time.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And he's like, let me actually show you just so you know.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

My hook actually looks like this. That's right Delicious.

[B]

That's right. There's our hottie. And so that's really what I think severance is about. What boils down to.

[C]

Yeah, I agree.

[B]

You know, it's like.

[C]

Okay, wait. Can I ask a question? Just a thought about this?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

I don't know what episode it is. I'm. When I watch, I watch and I kind of. I don't delve. I don't, like, go in to see all the secret.

[B]

That's good.

[C]

Thoughts, ET I'm not on the subreddits.

[B]

Good. Again, I'm saying it. And I feel like you still think I might be insulting you.

[C]

And Helena sees Mark at the diner or whatever.

[B]

Yeah. The Chinese restaurant, I believe.

[C]

Chinese restaurant. Thank you. And says the wrong name for Gemma. Do you know what I'm talking about? She calls her, like, Hannah or something. And Mark corrects her.

[A]

Yes, yes, yes.

[C]

What do we think is going on?

[A]

So two things I thought were happening there. One is. That's the classic move when you are trying to throw shade at someone.

[B]

Yeah. Yes.

[A]

Okay. Oh, how's. How's. How's Kristen. Her name is Katie.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like that thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. You know that.

[A]

Don't do that the whole time.

[B]

You knew.

[A]

The other thing is, is she testing his cognitive? Just sort of, like.

[B]

Could be. It always could be that.

[A]

Which is the whole thing. What episode seven was about.

[B]

Yeah. It's the whole thing.

[C]

Interesting.

[A]

Testing your. Your pain tolerance.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Your emotional nightmare. That guy.

[B]

My. By the way, I learned my. Yeah, that guy. And that's. No offense to him. You know, it's just like, buddy, I'm never. It's like, I feel like there's a guy in Green Mile that as soon as he. He's either sucks or is an incredible actor. Because I was like, if I ever see that guy again, I'll punch him. And I won't feel bad.

[A]

Dr. Maur.

[B]

Get it?

[C]

He'll know why.

[B]

Yeah. And that's how Dr. Maurer, you're next on that list. Like, that guy sucks. That guy sucks. He's a creepy. He played a creep so well that I never want to see that. Oh, my God.

[A]

Fingers in her mouth as the dentist was.

[C]

Don't you feel like. Don't you feel like they could come back to him and you could see him in the outside world and you'd be like, oh, I see. Kind of how he got here. Like, Severance would do that. Severance. They're not going to. I don't think. Oh, I get why he, like, wants to pretend to Be a dentist and actually checks out.

[B]

No, because I. Because if you think he's just pretending to be a dentist.

[A]

Dr. Bauer as an Audi, is Steven's assistant.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

His boss who he's brow beaten by and he's taking it out on. Yeah. Ms. Casey.

[B]

Ms. Casey. Oh, my God. Just. What a show. There's just so much happening.

[A]

How many more episodes are there?

[B]

I think it. Well, last season went to nine, so I was. Would have thought eight, but maybe nine.

[A]

We're looking it up.

[B]

So there's either one or two left. It's got to be two left.

[A]

There are two more.

[B]

Okay, good. So that's what I'm. I'm right.

[A]

The after hours, the next episode. And then the last episode is Cold harbor, which feels like it's been signaled, of course, by the room. That.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

Again, if you haven't watched the show, I hope you enjoy us nerding out about it, but it's just something that I've been dying to talk about with friends.

[B]

Really? Really.

[A]

Also, we're watching.

[C]

But Cold Harbor's not just the room. It's also. That's the project that Mark.

[B]

And it was also. It was written on the crib that he was. Was building in the flashback. And I don't think that matters. That's probably just like shout out to that prop director. But I. It's just.

[A]

You think that was an accident?

[B]

Well, no, I don't think it was.

[A]

Me, the catfish being like, I don't.

[B]

Think it was an accident. I don't think it definitively tells us that Cold harbor is going to be baby related.

[C]

Yeah. I feel like that episode eight is very, you know, when you go to, like a super fancy restaurant and the chef is like. And for this course, it's a parsnip steak. And you're like, I would never eat this, but let's see what you got, bro.

[B]

I'll try it.

[C]

That's that. This, to me, is the parsnip steak episode where they're like, what if we did this? I love that. I love. I love imagining a writer's room where they're like. And how about this insane thing? And someone goes, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Let's absolutely do that.

[B]

But you have to trust the restaurant.

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

You can't do it at a gas station.

[A]

And to the point of, like, living in this claustrophobic series of hallways and now, like, actually exploring the rest of the map. And you're like.

[B]

Which is named after the people. So you're like, this is clearly not just in the company, which I think is when we get our most crucial piece of information is when you in the real world are talking about like, I love the little bits that take it out into the. Like at the dinner party in season one, episode two, question mark, where they have the non dinner dinner party where they're all sitting around, it's all Rickon's intellectualist friends talking about nothing but saying a lot of words. And they're having a dinnerless dinner where they focus more on sating themselves with the conversation and really digging into each other's brains instead of being distracted by the food. It's like, perfect. That's why I love Rickon as a character. He's perfectly written. His friends suck. And then when severance comes up, you feel everyone go like the way. Like if. Now I'm not even gonna quote anything that could come up, but like, think of the hot button topic that like, make everybody go like, I have an opinion. I wonder what your opinion is. We don't really talk about this. Comes up in conversation and then you see all these people who like, performatively like to show you how smart they are, give their take on. It's very interesting. And then your news report, you hear that it's like, might be happening at other companies. There's like other stuff. It's why I watch shows now with the captions on. Because sometimes, like hearing what the TV is saying in the background, while not crucially important, does add like a context that makes you go, that is what we would do. We would absolutely respond to Severance with something like that.

[A]

We're just officially at a point where Michael Cruz Kane, who is one of the characters you're describing, has no idea what the. You're talking about.

[B]

Really.

[C]

That is. That is totally true. You're at a level of re watch but also like of pay attention.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That I don't. I don't achieve, even though I watch Severance. You're very close to like teaching a class on severance. I feel like that's the level of.

[B]

No. Oh, God.

[C]

I don't mean that you would want to.

[B]

We can talk about something else. That's mortifying.

[A]

I would like to stay in the world of entertainment and bring you the other story that I want to talk to you about.

[B]

What's that?

[C]

Great.

[A]

Did you guys see Saltburn?

[C]

I didn't see Saltburn, but I did because of this. I went. I clicked the link to the video of the scene and I wish I hadn't clicked on it.

[A]

Well.

[B]

Oh, which scene? Is it. Was it when he. The ground.

[A]

This scene is. This scene.

[B]

Oh, my God. This. You can't show this at work. You can't make me watch this.

[A]

And just in case you're not familiar with this video, by the way, this is, in fact, Barry Keoghan sneaking in and drinking the bath water in the tub that Jacob Elordi's character had just bathed and. And ejaculated. Yeah.

[B]

You better be going somewhere with this.

[C]

He's really.

[B]

Because.

[C]

What the.

[B]

Why. Why are we.

[A]

So I bring that scene up because the bathtub from Saltburn.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Has been purchased by a guy who collects stuff from movies.

[C]

His name is Pablo Torre.

[A]

And the bathtub is here. Today we're gonna wheel out the bathtub.

[B]

Is it. I don't want to call the. Do not play the clip again. I just am. Did we ever see a. No, no. Do we ever see a wide of the toe? My God, it's like. Look at the texture of it.

[A]

It is. The slurping does turn it off.

[B]

Do we ever see the tub? Good night.

[C]

Good night, mate.

[B]

Is it like a claw foot?

[C]

There you go. Why try the tub?

[B]

Pause, pause, pause. Legally, you have to pause.

[A]

So there's a. There's a wood, sort of like. Well, you think rim, I guess.

[B]

I can't tell if it's old or new. It's new.

[A]

It's definitely game used, is the point.

[B]

No, I meant, like, if that's. What kind. What type of. What style of.

[A]

Expensive. Yeah, expensive. So, like, the whole premise of Saltburn is that these guys are doing stuff inside of this estate.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In England.

[B]

That's the whole point.

[A]

That's honestly, like, more or less the point.

[C]

They're, like, watching this house or something.

[B]

Hey, these guys are slurping each other's goo.

[A]

In Jacob Lardi's family. They have of this estate.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And they are.

[B]

The state is called Saltburn. I guess.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

And these are, like two buddies.

[A]

So, I mean, longer, Longer story. Summarize. Is that very cute again, I don't know.

[B]

I think it's just. I thought it was Keegan, but no.

[C]

I think he's saying.

[A]

Yeah, that's right. Is a student at the same school, and he gets taken in by Jacob Elordi. And it's this whole kind of like, difference in class dynamic. But Barry Keegan is also, like, this incredible con man. In other words, talented Mr. Mr. Ripley, one might even dare say. Yeah. Anyhow, this guy bought this bathtub for $4,375 in an online auction.

[C]

Talented Mr. Sip Me. Is that something?

[B]

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[C]

Sorry. You were saying?

[A]

If sure that Katie is lightly stoned.

[B]

God. What.

[A]

When people ask Mr. Harvey, this guy's name is. Is Mr. Harvey his first name, I believe? Michael.

[B]

Steve.

[C]

Steve Harvey.

[A]

Oh, my God. Steve Harvey. That mustache. Doing work on that. It's like when people ask Mr. Harvey what he does with the bathtub, his answer is simple. Quote, I just look at it. He said, I'm looking at it right now. Barry Keoghan was right there. It's so crazy to me, period. End quote.

[C]

I mean, this is. This dude is a. I mean, if I had to guess, an outwardly extremely horny guy. Whoever bought this because he's a movie.

[B]

If it wasn't a movie collector guy, then I would feel like more so that. But movie collector guy, if he wants to collect all the iconic things from movies, he could power through. You know how weird that is?

[C]

It just feels like you've got that thing in your house. So someone can say, what is this? And you can go, have you seen this scene from Saltburn?

[B]

But how many.

[C]

What are the other.

[B]

Do we know the other already better than his? If I may. Do we know what other things from what other movies he has other Saltburn.

[A]

Memorabilia he bought in the auction?

[B]

Oh, well, that's different.

[A]

That's also a frame photo of Mr. Elordi and Mr. Keoghan.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And ensembles that the actors wore in the film, which won awards for costume production as design. Also, the bathtub came complete with stains around its drain.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

Fake stains. Stains. Like stains.

[B]

I'd call it a stain. Doesn't.

[A]

Designer has said that they were made using edible paint.

[B]

Dane. Okay.

[C]

Edible paint stains. You know, in case Keogan accidentally dislodged some of the stains.

[B]

Stain a tub. I'm looking for one of you to take that over. I don't think you can stain a tub with that.

[A]

Not with that.

[C]

I'm not aware of. I'm not aware of the. Yeah. Of the acid content being enough to stain the tub.

[A]

Mr. Harvey estimated that he'd acquired about 200 pieces. This is across all of cinema. And that he had paid about $70,000 for all of them. Though a handful had cost him thousands of dollars, most were bought for hundreds of dollars, he said. They include dozens of clothes previously owned by Joe Exotic.

[B]

No.

[A]

Subject of the Netflix documentary series Tiger King. Several outfits worn by Lady Gaga in the film House of Gucci.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

A mask and two vans from the horror movie the Black phone.

[B]

Never heard of that.

[A]

Familiar.

[B]

I don't like horror.

[A]

A horse trailer from Twisters.

[B]

Okay, sick.

[A]

And a diner sign From Friday the 13th, one of his favorite horror films.

[B]

That's cool.

[C]

Okay, so it's kind of all in.

[A]

Like a big warehouse in his residence, it seems.

[B]

Okay, so he's having that moment you described like 50 times throughout his. And have you ever seen Friday the 13th? This is a sign from that.

[A]

There are lots of people who buy at auction props, costumes from movies, memorabilia, I mean, which is not unfamiliar to anybody who owns, like, sports memorabilia, of course. Like, this is their version of that. And so who. Who, who am I to say that you can't have in this photograph a framed autographed photo of Joe. Exotic, I guess.

[B]

I guess.

[A]

I don't know. But I think the bath.

[C]

I'm interrupting you. The bathtub is for sex. Thoughts? That's. You're not getting that. You could get. You could have got all the other and not got the bathtub.

[B]

Well, can I make the only argument for it being not for that? And I think it's that it was such a moment of like, everybody was talking about it. Like it was a very. Like a good or bad people were like, did you see that scene? That's why Pablo said that scene. I only happened to have seen the other scene. But you can't buy the grave. You can't buy the grave. They weren't letting you. And so it was like a very talked about, very shocked, shocking scene. And so it really, to him, maybe potentially, I'm not the guy. I'm not Steve Harvey. So I don't know, maybe he was just like, it's a. Look, this is a piece of, like, history. Not saying whether he's right or wrong or even if this is a thing he thought, but it like, is like.

[A]

I mean, Kyle Harvey said, quote, it's a piece of history.

[B]

Okay, that did.

[A]

I had Tik Tok going for days.

[B]

Did that. That's crazy.

[C]

That is right.

[A]

It's crazy, because I know you didn't read this.

[B]

That's. You know, I didn't. I didn't even know.

[C]

Immediately came up with the same excuse that a unknown sex pervert came up with.

[B]

What does that tell you?

[C]

Immediately, right off the top?

[A]

Is there anything you guys would want to own from any of your favorite shows or movies? Like, is there a severance object that you would like? Is there? What? What? So there are some options here just because I know, for instance, like, our friend David Sampson here at Metalark Media is One of the.

[C]

Shout out to my. Shout out to my buddy, your friend, Davies Samsung. Your friend, Mr. Samson, my man. Ah, the stories I could tell you about Dave. My God, do we have time?

[A]

He owns the FedEx box from Castaway.

[B]

What the. This is like Darren.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

It's not unlike Darren Ravel. Yeah, he owns the pocket watch from Castaway.

[C]

Okay. This is so. He's. We're getting a real Castaway vibe here. He doesn't have Wilson. There's no way he's got Wilson.

[A]

He does not have Wilson.

[B]

But God knows he would love his wife and Castaway. I've like, memory. I've wiped that from my memory completely.

[A]

Girlfriend.

[B]

Sorry. Oh, I'm so sorry. Nope. Not to put any pressure on him. Whenever they're ready.

[A]

You know, David Sampson also owns Will Ferrell's hospital gown from Stranger Than Fiction.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

Stranger than Fiction. Certainly not in will Ferrell's top 5,000 movies. I liked. I liked it too. But I'm still like. That's not what I would have guessed.

[C]

You're not thinking. You're. It's not. It's not the first.

[B]

It's not. No. And I would argue even the soccer one comes to mind before.

[C]

And that's how. Well, you know what that one is that you call it the soccer one.

[B]

And what is it? Kicking and screaming.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

It's a pretty low key, good movie. And I say low key because I'm young. Let's go to the next.

[A]

Speaking of.

[B]

Not the next. Whatever we have.

[A]

He owns the teddy bear from mash. This is a Radar's teddy bear.

[B]

I'm too young to know what that is.

[C]

This is so dick.

[B]

Too young to know what that is.

[A]

I mean, look at that.

[C]

It looks, I would say, vaguely terrifying.

[B]

Yeah. I do feel like I had a teddy bear that kind of looked like.

[A]

That with the weird teddy bear. Does look like it's been drowning in the salt tub.

[B]

Wasn't Matt. Okay. Why do we gotta go back to it covered in. Is there an HR I can hit up on my way out here?

[A]

There is.

[B]

Definitively I feel I'm being bullied. No. Oh, my God. It's so milky.

[C]

I should also say that I also do not want to see that video camera.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Well, I have been.

[B]

I'm just a me thing, so. That T shirt's gigantic.

[A]

We're not gonna play it anymore.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Just kidding. We are gonna play it. Play it again.

[B]

It's that noise. You hear the noise and you're like.

[C]

Yeah. Even I'm gonna have a Pavlovian shiver response.

[A]

Pavlobian.

[C]

Oh, my God. Okay.

[A]

What did we find out today?

[B]

As usual, nothing, Katie. As usual, nothing.

[A]

You always claim that you found out nothing. Unpavatory finds out a show about finding out stuff and you inevitably do realize at some point. We found out so much today. So much.

[B]

Such as?

[A]

Such as, oh, my God.

[C]

Son of a God.

[B]

I found out isn't the safe space I thought it was. I found out I'm not safe here.

[A]

I would like to have us edit into Michael Cruz Kane's severance scene footage of Michael Cruz Kane talking on this episode that Adam Scott is watching. Can we do that?

[C]

Put it in the tv.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I want this episode to be in the TV that Adam Scott is turning on.

[B]

His head is blocking.

[C]

My head is still blocked.

[B]

Even in this, us two are on the side that you can see.

[C]

Ben still's gonna listen to this episode of this podcast, call you guys and be like, it would be funny if you blocked his head. Yes, that would be funny if you.

[A]

Did that turns out the TV with the remote. End episode.

[B]

End episode.

[A]

Pablo Torre finds out is produced by Walter Abaroma, Ryan Cortez, Sam Dawig, Juan Galindo, Patrick Kim, neely Loman, Rob McRae, Rachel Miller, Howard Carl Scott, Matt Sullivan, Claire Taylor, Chris Tuminello and Juliet Warren. RStudio Engineering by RG Systems. Our sound design by NGW Post. Our theme song, as always, is by John Bravo and we will talk to you next time.